Method of unauthorized vehicle movement detection

ABSTRACT

A system and method for detecting unauthorized vehicle movement that includes measuring a resting angle of a vehicle using a vehicle sensor; thereafter, detecting a change in the measured resting angle of the vehicle; determining that the detected change is not authorized; and sending an alert message based on the determination via a vehicle telematics unit.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to vehicles and moreparticularly to detecting unauthorized vehicle movement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Increasingly, vehicle manufacturers outfit their vehicles with a widearray of wireless communications capabilities. Telematics unitsinstalled in modern vehicles can wirelessly send both voice and datacommunications to a variety of recipients. Recipients can be centralfacilities that include servers and/or live advisors capable ofresponding to the telematics unit. Recipients can also include externalcallers. Vehicles equipped with telematics units have the ability tomonitor and gather a diverse array of data about vehicle relatedconditions and send it via the telematics unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method ofdetecting unauthorized vehicle movement. The steps include measuring aresting angle of a vehicle using a vehicle sensor; thereafter, detectinga change in the measured resting angle of the vehicle; determining thatthe detected change is not authorized; and sending an alert messagebased on the determination via a vehicle telematics unit.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodof detecting unauthorized vehicle movement. The steps includedetermining that a vehicle has been stationary for a predeterminedamount of time; measuring a resting angle of the vehicle using a vehiclesensor; monitoring the resting angle of the vehicle using a vehicletelematics unit to determine if the vehicle is moved; detecting a changein the resting angle based on the monitoring, wherein the change in theresting angle is greater than a predetermined threshold; determiningthat the change in the resting angle is: (1) present for longer than apredetermined time; or (2) not authorized; and sending an alert messagecontaining a notification of the detected change.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided anapparatus for detecting unauthorized vehicle movement. The apparatusincludes a vehicle telematics unit having an electronic processingdevice and being operational to provide wireless voice communications,data communications, or both over a wireless carrier system; and asensor coupled to the vehicle telematics unit and operable to detect anangle of a vehicle with respect to a reference and send the detectedangle to the vehicle telematics unit, wherein the vehicle telematicsunit operates to monitor the vehicle for changes in the resting angleafter the vehicle has remained motionless for a predetermined amount oftime and communicate with a call center if the resting angle changesmore than a predetermined amount.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention willhereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings,wherein like designations denote like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary embodiment of acommunications system that is capable of using the method disclosedherein; and

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method of detecting unauthorized vehiclemovement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The method described below detects the unauthorized movement of avehicle. This can be accomplished by monitoring a motionless vehicle inorder to detect some degree of tilting of that vehicle. If the vehicletilts more than a certain amount, then the vehicle could be movingwithout the owner's consent. Vehicle telematics units can receive datafrom sensors that indicated the tilt of the vehicle. Then, thetelematics unit can use wireless communications capabilities to send analert to an appropriate recipient. It is possible to incorporate thismethod into telematics units installed on vehicles at the factory ortelematics units that are later-added to pre-existing vehicles. Themethod helps increase the chance of recovering stolen vehicles andalerting proper authorities of the theft.

With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown an exemplary operatingenvironment that comprises a mobile vehicle communications system 10 andthat can be used to implement the method disclosed herein.Communications system 10 generally includes a vehicle 12, one or morewireless carrier systems 14, a land communications network 16, acomputer 18, and a call center 20. It should be understood that thedisclosed method can be used with any number of different systems and isnot specifically limited to the operating environment shown here. Also,the architecture, construction, setup, and operation of the system 10and its individual components are generally known in the art. Thus, thefollowing paragraphs simply provide a brief overview of one suchexemplary system 10; however, other systems not shown here could employthe disclosed method as well.

Vehicle 12 is depicted in the illustrated embodiment as a passenger car,but it should be appreciated that any other vehicle includingmotorcycles, trucks, sports utility vehicles (SUVs), recreationalvehicles (RVs), marine vessels, aircraft, etc., can also be used. Someof the vehicle electronics 28 is shown generally in FIG. 1 and includesa telematics unit 30, a microphone 32, one or more pushbuttons or othercontrol inputs 34, an audio system 36, a visual display 38, and a GPSmodule 40 as well as a number of vehicle system modules (VSMs) 42. Someof these devices can be connected directly to the telematics unit suchas, for example, the microphone 32 and pushbutton(s) 34, whereas othersare indirectly connected using one or more network connections, such asa communications bus 44 or an entertainment bus 46. Examples of suitablenetwork connections include a controller area network (CAN), a mediaoriented system transfer (MOST), a local interconnection network (LIN),a local area network (LAN), and other appropriate connections such asEthernet or others that conform with known ISO, SAE and IEEE standardsand specifications, to name but a few.

Telematics unit 30 is an OEM-installed device that enables wirelessvoice and/or data communication over wireless carrier system 14 and viawireless networking so that the vehicle can communicate with call center20, other telematics-enabled vehicles, or some other entity or device.The telematics unit preferably uses radio transmissions to establish acommunications channel (a voice channel and/or a data channel) withwireless carrier system 14 so that voice and/or data transmissions canbe sent and received over the channel. By providing both voice and datacommunication, telematics unit 30 enables the vehicle to offer a numberof different services including those related to navigation, telephony,emergency assistance, diagnostics, infotainment, etc. Data can be senteither via a data connection, such as via packet data transmission overa data channel, or via a voice channel using techniques known in theart. For combined services that involve both voice communication (e.g.,with a live advisor or voice response unit at the call center 20) anddata communication (e.g., to provide GPS location data or vehiclediagnostic data to the call center 20), the system can utilize a singlecall over a voice channel and switch as needed between voice and datatransmission over the voice channel, and this can be done usingtechniques known to those skilled in the art.

According to one embodiment, telematics unit 30 utilizes cellularcommunication according to either GSM or CDMA standards and thusincludes a standard cellular chipset 50 for voice communications likehands-free calling, a wireless modem for data transmission, anelectronic processing device 52, one or more digital memory devices 54,and a dual antenna 56. It should be appreciated that the modem caneither be implemented through software that is stored in the telematicsunit and is executed by processor 52, or it can be a separate hardwarecomponent located internal or external to telematics unit 30. The modemcan operate using any number of different standards or protocols such asEVDO, CDMA, GPRS, and EDGE. Wireless networking between the vehicle andother networked devices can also be carried out using telematics unit30. For this purpose, telematics unit 30 can be configured tocommunicate wirelessly according to one or more wireless protocols, suchas any of the IEEE 802.11 protocols, WiMAX, or Bluetooth. When used forpacket-switched data communication such as TCP/IP, the telematics unitcan be configured with a static IP address or can set up toautomatically receive an assigned IP address from another device on thenetwork such as a router or from a network address server.

Processor 52 can be any type of device capable of processing electronicinstructions including microprocessors, microcontrollers, hostprocessors, controllers, vehicle communication processors, andapplication specific integrated circuits (ASICs). It can be a dedicatedprocessor used only for telematics unit 30 or can be shared with othervehicle systems. Processor 52 executes various types of digitally-storedinstructions, such as software or firmware programs stored in memory 54,which enable the telematics unit to provide a wide variety of services.For instance, processor 52 can execute programs or process data to carryout at least a part of the method discussed herein.

Telematics unit 30 can be used to provide a diverse range of vehicleservices that involve wireless communication to and/or from the vehicle.Such services include: turn-by-turn directions and othernavigation-related services that are provided in conjunction with theGPS-based vehicle navigation module 40; airbag deployment notificationand other emergency or roadside assistance-related services that areprovided in connection with one or more collision sensor interfacemodules such as a body control module (not shown); diagnostic reportingusing one or more diagnostic modules; and infotainment-related serviceswhere music, webpages, movies, television programs, videogames and/orother information is downloaded by an infotainment module (not shown)and is stored for current or later playback. The above-listed servicesare by no means an exhaustive list of all of the capabilities oftelematics unit 30, but are simply an enumeration of some of theservices that the telematics unit is capable of offering. Furthermore,it should be understood that at least some of the aforementioned modulescould be implemented in the form of software instructions saved internalor external to telematics unit 30, they could be hardware componentslocated internal or external to telematics unit 30, or they could beintegrated and/or shared with each other or with other systems locatedthroughout the vehicle, to cite but a few possibilities. In the eventthat the modules are implemented as VSMs 42 located external totelematics unit 30, they could utilize vehicle bus 44 to exchange dataand commands with the telematics unit.

GPS module 40 receives radio signals from a constellation 60 of GPSsatellites. From these signals, the module 40 can determine vehicleposition that is used for providing navigation and otherposition-related services to the vehicle driver. Navigation informationcan be presented on the display 38 (or other display within the vehicle)or can be presented verbally such as is done when supplying turn-by-turnnavigation. The navigation services can be provided using a dedicatedin-vehicle navigation module (which can be part of GPS module 40), orsome or all navigation services can be done via telematics unit 30,wherein the position information is sent to a remote location forpurposes of providing the vehicle with navigation maps, map annotations(points of interest, restaurants, etc.), route calculations, and thelike. The position information can be supplied to call center 20 orother remote computer system, such as computer 18, for other purposes,such as fleet management. Also, new or updated map data can bedownloaded to the GPS module 40 from the call center 20 via thetelematics unit 30.

Apart from the audio system 36 and GPS module 40, the vehicle 12 caninclude other vehicle system modules (VSMs) 42 in the form of electronichardware components that are located throughout the vehicle andtypically receive input from one or more sensors and use the sensedinput to perform diagnostic, monitoring, control, reporting, and/orother functions. Each of the VSMs 42 is preferably connected bycommunications bus 44 to the other VSMs, as well as to the telematicsunit 30, and can be programmed to run vehicle system and subsystemdiagnostic tests. As examples, one VSM 42 can be an engine controlmodule (ECM) that controls various aspects of engine operation such asfuel ignition and ignition timing, another VSM 42 can be a powertraincontrol module that regulates operation of one or more components of thevehicle powertrain, and another VSM 42 can be a body control module thatgoverns various electrical components located throughout the vehicle,like the vehicle's power door locks and headlights. According to oneembodiment, the engine control module is equipped with on-boarddiagnostic (OBD) features that provide myriad real-time data, such asthat received from various sensors including vehicle emissions sensors,and provide a standardized series of diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs)that allow a technician to rapidly identify and remedy malfunctionswithin the vehicle. In another example, the VSM 42—or other vehiclehardware component, such as the telematics unit 30—can include aninclinometer 48, such as a tilt sensor, capable of generating anartificial horizon and measuring the angular tilt of the vehicle 12 withrespect to that horizon. The inclinometer can be implemented as a liquidcapacitive inclinometer or pendular inclinometer, to name a few. It isalso possible to measure the tilt of the vehicle 12 using a mercury tiltswitch. As is appreciated by those skilled in the art, theabove-mentioned VSMs are only examples of some of the modules that maybe used in vehicle 12, as numerous others are also possible.

Vehicle electronics 28 also includes a number of vehicle user interfacesthat provide vehicle occupants with a means of providing and/orreceiving information, including microphone 32, pushbuttons(s) 34, audiosystem 36, and visual display 38. As used herein, the term ‘vehicle userinterface’ broadly includes any suitable form of electronic device,including both hardware and software components, which is located on thevehicle and enables a vehicle user to communicate with or through acomponent of the vehicle. Microphone 32 provides audio input to thetelematics unit to enable the driver or other occupant to provide voicecommands and carry out hands-free calling via the wireless carriersystem 14. For this purpose, it can be connected to an on-boardautomated voice processing unit utilizing human-machine interface (HMI)technology known in the art. The pushbutton(s) 34 allow manual userinput into the telematics unit 30 to initiate wireless telephone callsand provide other data, response, or control input. Separate pushbuttonscan be used for initiating emergency calls versus regular serviceassistance calls to the call center 20. Audio system 36 provides audiooutput to a vehicle occupant and can be a dedicated, stand-alone systemor part of the primary vehicle audio system. According to the particularembodiment shown here, audio system 36 is operatively coupled to bothvehicle bus 44 and entertainment bus 46 and can provide AM, FM andsatellite radio, CD, DVD and other multimedia functionality. Thisfunctionality can be provided in conjunction with or independent of theinfotainment module described above. Visual display 38 is preferably agraphics display, such as a touch screen on the instrument panel or aheads-up display reflected off of the windshield, and can be used toprovide a multitude of input and output functions. Various other vehicleuser interfaces can also be utilized, as the interfaces of FIG. 1 areonly an example of one particular implementation.

Wireless carrier system 14 is preferably a cellular telephone systemthat includes a plurality of cell towers 70 (only one shown), one ormore mobile switching centers (MSCs) 72, as well as any other networkingcomponents required to connect wireless carrier system 14 with landnetwork 16. Each cell tower 70 includes sending and receiving antennasand a base station, with the base stations from different cell towersbeing connected to the MSC 72 either directly or via intermediaryequipment such as a base station controller. Cellular system 14 canimplement any suitable communications technology, including for example,analog technologies such as AMPS, or the newer digital technologies suchas CDMA (e.g., CDMA2000) or GSM/GPRS. As will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art, various cell tower/base station/MSC arrangements arepossible and could be used with wireless system 14. For instance, thebase station and cell tower could be co-located at the same site or theycould be remotely located from one another, each base station could beresponsible for a single cell tower or a single base station couldservice various cell towers, and various base stations could be coupledto a single MSC, to name but a few of the possible arrangements.

Apart from using wireless carrier system 14, a different wirelesscarrier system in the form of satellite communication can be used toprovide uni-directional or bi-directional communication with thevehicle. This can be done using one or more communication satellites 62and an uplink transmitting station 64. Uni-directional communication canbe, for example, satellite radio services, wherein programming content(news, music, etc.) is received by transmitting station 64, packaged forupload, and then sent to the satellite 62, which broadcasts theprogramming to subscribers. Bi-directional communication can be, forexample, satellite telephony services using satellite 62 to relaytelephone communications between the vehicle 12 and station 64. If used,this satellite telephony can be utilized either in addition to or inlieu of wireless carrier system 14.

Land network 16 may be a conventional land-based telecommunicationsnetwork that is connected to one or more landline telephones andconnects wireless carrier system 14 to call center 20. For example, landnetwork 16 may include a public switched telephone network (PSTN) suchas that used to provide hardwired telephony, packet-switched datacommunications, and the Internet infrastructure. One or more segments ofland network 16 could be implemented through the use of a standard wirednetwork, a fiber or other optical network, a cable network, power lines,other wireless networks such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), ornetworks providing broadband wireless access (BWA), or any combinationthereof. Furthermore, call center 20 need not be connected via landnetwork 16, but could include wireless telephony equipment so that itcan communicate directly with a wireless network, such as wirelesscarrier system 14.

Computer 18 can be one of a number of computers accessible via a privateor public network such as the Internet. Each such computer 18 can beused for one or more purposes, such as a web server accessible by thevehicle via telematics unit 30 and wireless carrier 14. Other suchaccessible computers 18 can be, for example: a service center computerwhere diagnostic information and other vehicle data can be uploaded fromthe vehicle via the telematics unit 30; a client computer used by thevehicle owner or other subscriber for such purposes as accessing orreceiving vehicle data or to setting up or configuring subscriberpreferences or controlling vehicle functions; or a third partyrepository to or from which vehicle data or other information isprovided, whether by communicating with the vehicle 12 or call center20, or both. A computer 18 can also be used for providing Internetconnectivity such as DNS services or as a network address server thatuses DHCP or other suitable protocol to assign an IP address to thevehicle 12.

Call center 20 is designed to provide the vehicle electronics 28 with anumber of different system back-end functions and, according to theexemplary embodiment shown here, generally includes one or more switches80, servers 82, databases 84, live advisors 86, as well as an automatedvoice response system (VRS) 88, all of which are known in the art. Thesevarious call center components are preferably coupled to one another viaa wired or wireless local area network 90. Switch 80, which can be aprivate branch exchange (PBX) switch, routes incoming signals so thatvoice transmissions are usually sent to either the live adviser 86 byregular phone or to the automated voice response system 88 using VoIP.The live advisor phone can also use VoIP as indicated by the broken linein FIG. 1. VoIP and other data communication through the switch 80 isimplemented via a modem (not shown) connected between the switch 80 andnetwork 90. Data transmissions are passed via the modem to server 82and/or database 84. Database 84 can store account information such assubscriber authentication information, vehicle identifiers, profilerecords, behavioral patterns, and other pertinent subscriberinformation. Data transmissions may also be conducted by wirelesssystems, such as 802.11x, GPRS, and the like. Although the illustratedembodiment has been described as it would be used in conjunction with amanned call center 20 using live advisor 86, it will be appreciated thatthe call center can instead utilize VRS 88 as an automated advisor or, acombination of VRS 88 and the live advisor 86 can be used.

Turning now to FIG. 2, there is a method 200 of detecting unauthorizedvehicle movement. The method 200 begins at step 210 with determiningthat a vehicle has been stationary for a predetermined amount of time.This can take place with some combination of location detecting andtimekeeping technology on the vehicle 12. For example, the vehicle 12includes a GPS module 40 that can generate the latitude and longitudecoordinates of the vehicle location. The GPS module 40 can thencommunicate those coordinates to the telematics unit 30 over thecommunications bus 44 where they can be analyzed with respect to achange in GPS coordinates over units of time. In that sense, if the GPScoordinates remain unchanged, the telematics unit 30 can include atiming component, such as a clock, that can keep track of the amount oftime elapsed during which the GPS coordinates received from the GPSmodule 40 remain unchanged. If the received GPS coordinates remain theunchanged longer than a predetermined amount of time, then thetelematics unit 30 can determine that the vehicle 12 is stationary. Anexemplary amount of predetermined time can be two minutes and thisamount can be established at a vehicle manufacturing facility or can bewirelessly received at the vehicle 12 as a machine instruction from thecall center 20 and saved at the telematics unit 30. In another example,it is possible to determine that the vehicle 12 remains stationary bymonitoring a sensor, such as an accelerometer, using the telematics unit30. If the sensor indicates that the vehicle 12 remains motionless forsome period of time, then the telematics unit 30 can detect thiscondition. The method 200 proceeds to step 220.

At step 220, a resting angle of the vehicle is measured using a vehiclesensor. As described above, the vehicle 12 can include a sensor, such asthe inclinometer 48, that measures the angle of the vehicle 12 withrespect to some reference, such as the true horizon (e.g., based ongravitational pull) or an artificial horizon such as the groundunderneath the vehicle 12. Therefore, when the vehicle 12 comes to astop, the angle at which the vehicle 12 is articulated with respect tothe reference can be measured at that time. In one example, theartificial horizon can differ from the true horizon by an angle valuemeasured between the surface underneath the vehicle and the truehorizon. The ground, on the other hand, can be viewed as parallel to thevehicle 12 for purposes of reference and designated as the artificialhorizon. For example, if the vehicle 12 is operated in hilly areas andcomes to a stop on a hill or incline, the sensor can measure a restingangle of the vehicle 12 as 15° from the true horizon or as 0° from theground (given that the ground underneath the vehicle 12 is also 15° fromthe true horizon). In that sense, the sensor can determine that thevehicle 12 rests at 15° and establish 15° as the artificial horizon.While the artificial horizon is 15°, the vehicle 12 is also resting at15°. Therefore, the vehicle 12 is resting at an angle measured as 0°from the artificial horizon (e.g. the ground). The value 15° is usedhere as an example and it should be appreciated that many incline valuescan be determined. Or in another example, when the vehicle 12 comes tostop on an incline, the sensor can measure the resting angle of thevehicle 12 as the angle of the incline with respect to the true horizon.If, for example, the incline is 20° from the true horizon, 20° would bethe resting angle of the vehicle 12. The method 200 proceeds to step230.

At step 230, the resting angle of the vehicle is monitored to determineif the vehicle has moved. Once the resting angle has been measured orestablished, the vehicle 12 can continue to monitor the angle of thevehicle 12 and compare subsequent measurements of a present angle of thevehicle 12 to the previously-measured resting angle. For example, theresting angle can be stored in memory 54 of the telematics unit 30 andperiodically the unit 30 can obtain the present angle of the vehicle 12via the inclinometer 48 or other sensor. The telematics unit 30 can thencompare the present angle of the vehicle 12 with the resting angle. Inanother example, the resting angle can be stored at the sensor itselfand the comparison between the present vehicle angle and the restingangle can occur at the sensor. The comparison can take placeperiodically until a change is detected or a vehicle operator returns tothe vehicle 12—an event that can be signified by such actions asunlocking the doors or activating the vehicle ignition. The method 200proceeds to step 240.

At step 240, a change in the resting angle is detected based on themonitoring. When the comparison of the resting angle and the presentangle do not match or deviate more than a predetermined amount, thetelematics unit 30 can detect this discrepancy. For instance, if thecomparison between the present vehicle angle and the resting angleoccurs at the sensor having the inclinometer, the sensor can send asignal over the communication bus 44 to the telematics unit 30 thatalerts the processing device 52 of the discrepancy. In another example,the telematics unit 30 can receive the present angle of the vehicle 12from the sensor and compare that angle to the resting angle the unit 30previously stored. In that case, the telematics unit 30 can use theprocessing device 52 to detect the difference between the resting angleand the present angle. In addition, the telematics unit 30 can determinethat the difference between the resting angle and the present angle isgreater than a predetermined threshold. In order to help preventunintended triggering of detected differences, an angle amount can beestablished as a predetermined threshold above which a change ordiscrepancy can be considered valid. For example, the predeterminedthreshold could be a value of 5°. In that sense, if the differencebetween the present angle of the vehicle 12 and the resting angle isgreater than 5°, the method 200 can be more certain that the vehicle 12has not been bumped by another vehicle or object. Rather, it can bedetermined as likely that the vehicle 12 is being moved. The method 200proceeds to step 250.

At step 250, a check is made to determine whether the detected change inthe resting angle is authorized or not. In one embodiment, a time periodcan be used for this determination. For example, it is helpful todetermine that the vehicle 12 is not merely being serviced by a vehicleowner using a garage jack, since such a use would be consideredauthorized. As a result, the method 200 can include one or more steps tohelp ensure that the detected change in the resting angle is the resultof unauthorized movement. In one example, the telematics unit 30 can seta timer that would measure the amount of time the detected change in theresting angle is present. If the change in the resting angle is stillpresent after the expiration of the timer, then the telematics unit 30can determine that the vehicle 12 is being moved without authorization.For instance, it can be determined that changing a tire may involve 20minutes of work. As a result, the timer can be set to expire after 20minutes have passed. Otherwise, if the vehicle 12 returns to its restingangle or returns to an angle within the threshold described in step 240before the expiration of the timer, the telematics unit 30 can determinethat the vehicle 12 is not being moved.

Alternatively, or additionally, the vehicle 12 can determine whether thechange in the resting angle is authorized based on one or more vehiclevariables that can be monitored by the telematics unit 30. Examples ofthese vehicle variables include: the status of the vehicle door locks,the presence of a vehicle key in the surrounding area of the vehicle 12,activation of the vehicle ignition, or the location of the vehicle 12.For instance, if the telematics unit 30 determines that the vehicledoors are unlocked, the telematics unit 30 can determine that the changein the resting angle is not the result of unauthorized activity. Inanother example, the telematics unit 30 can detect the presence of thevehicle key and/or the operation of the vehicle ignition and from theirpresence determine that the change in the resting angle of the vehicle12 is not unauthorized. It is also possible to compare the location ofthe vehicle 12 with certain predetermined locations after determiningthe change in the resting angle. As an example, the GPS coordinates ofGPS module 40 of the telematics unit 30 can be compared withpreviously-stored coordinates, such as those corresponding to thevehicle owner's house, place of business, or other stored favoritelocations. And if the GPS coordinates generated at the time of thedetected resting angle change are at or within a predetermined distancefrom the previously-stored coordinates, the telematics unit 30 canassume that the vehicle movement is authorized.

Where the vehicle movement is determined to be authorized, the methodends or repeats to check for further changes. However, if the movementis determined to have not been authorized, the method 200 proceeds tostep 260 where an alert message is sent based on the determination instep 260. If the telematics unit 30 determines that the vehicle ismoving without authorization, the unit 30 can send the alert message tothe appropriate recipient(s). For example, the alert message can be sentto the call center 20, the vehicle owner, and/or a public safety accesspoint (PSAP). The alert message can contain a notification that it hasdetected a change in the vehicle angle and/or that the vehicle has beenmoved. The alert message can be generated by the telematics unit 30 andsent via the dual antenna 56 over the wireless carrier system 14. Thealert message can include vehicle data that represents the presentcondition of the vehicle, such as the present location of the vehicle12. In addition, the alert message can direct a call center to monitorthe future movement and use of the vehicle 12. The method 200 then ends.

It is to be understood that the foregoing is a description of one ormore preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention. The invention isnot limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed herein, but ratheris defined solely by the claims below. Furthermore, the statementscontained in the foregoing description relate to particular embodimentsand are not to be construed as limitations on the scope of the inventionor on the definition of terms used in the claims, except where a term orphrase is expressly defined above. Various other embodiments and variouschanges and modifications to the disclosed embodiment(s) will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art. All such other embodiments,changes, and modifications are intended to come within the scope of theappended claims.

As used in this specification and claims, the terms “for example,” “forinstance,” “such as,” and “like,” and the verbs “comprising,” “having,”“including,” and their other verb forms, when used in conjunction with alisting of one or more components or other items, are each to beconstrued as open-ended, meaning that the listing is not to beconsidered as excluding other, additional components or items. Otherterms are to be construed using their broadest reasonable meaning unlessthey are used in a context that requires a different interpretation.

1. A method of detecting unauthorized vehicle movement, comprising thesteps of: (a) measuring a resting angle of a vehicle using a vehiclesensor; (b) thereafter, detecting a change in the measured resting angleof the vehicle; (c) determining that the detected change is notauthorized; and (d) sending an alert message based on the determinationvia a vehicle telematics unit.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of generating global positioning system (GPS)coordinates corresponding to the location of the vehicle.
 3. The methodof claim 2, further comprising the step of communicating the GPScoordinates to a call center.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of determining that the vehicle has been stationaryfor a predetermined amount of time.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising the step of using an accelerometer to determine that thevehicle has been stationary.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of measuring the resting angle using aninclinometer.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the inclinometermeasures the resting angle with respect to an artificial horizon orreference.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) further comprisesthe step of determining that the change in the measured resting angle ofthe vehicle is greater than a predetermined angular amount.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining whethervehicle movement is authorized based on one or more vehicle variablesmonitored by the telematics unit.
 10. A method of detecting unauthorizedvehicle movement, comprising the steps of: (a) determining that avehicle has been stationary for a predetermined amount of time; (b)measuring a resting angle of the vehicle using a vehicle sensor; (c)monitoring the resting angle of the vehicle using a vehicle telematicsunit to determine if the vehicle is moved; (d) detecting a change in theresting angle based on the monitoring, wherein the change in the restingangle is greater than a predetermined threshold; (e) determining thatthe change in the resting angle is: (e1) present for longer than apredetermined time; or (e2) not authorized; and (f) sending an alertmessage containing a notification of the detected change.
 11. The methodof claim 10, wherein the vehicle sensor further comprises aninclinometer.
 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step ofmeasuring the resting angle using an artificial horizon.
 13. The methodof claim 10, further comprising the step of generating globalpositioning system (GPS) coordinates corresponding to the location ofthe vehicle.
 14. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step ofdetermining whether vehicle movement is authorized based on one or morevehicle variables monitored by the telematics unit.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the vehicle variables further comprise one or more of:the status of vehicle door locks, the presence of a vehicle key in thesurrounding area of the vehicle, activation of the vehicle ignition, ora location of the vehicle.
 16. An apparatus for detecting unauthorizedvehicle movement comprising: a vehicle telematics unit having anelectronic processing device and being operational to provide wirelessvoice communications, data communications, or both over a wirelesscarrier system; and a sensor coupled to the vehicle telematics unit andoperable to detect an angle of a vehicle with respect to a reference andsend the detected angle to the vehicle telematics unit, wherein thevehicle telematics unit operates to monitor the vehicle for changes inthe resting angle after the vehicle has remained motionless for apredetermined amount of time and communicate with a call center if theresting angle changes more than a predetermined amount.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 16, wherein the sensor further comprises aninclinometer being operational to determine the angle of the vehicle.18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the inclinometer is used togenerate an artificial horizon.
 19. The apparatus of claim 15, whereinthe sensor further comprises a mercury switch being operational todetermine the angle of the vehicle
 20. The apparatus of claim 15,further comprising a global positioning system (GPS) module fordetermining the location of the vehicle.